These kids are AWESOME. 2020 has been hard on high school students but this generation is becoming more resilient through it all. It's hard to believe everything that we have experienced from roughly a year ago until now.
My goals for e-learning with less than a month before the holidays was to:
Get to know my students
Create a welcoming environment focused on their social and emotional needs
Establish class routines with e-learning
Accomplish daily tasks in each class that build to a larger concept
As students were logging in to Zoom while I was taking attendance, I began every class with a motivational quote, a funny or off-topic opening question for students to respond to in the chat, and then an overview of the agenda for the day. I also recognized just how important it was to pause instruction with short breaks to stand up and stretch as well as give a designated 5 minute break for the whole class to turn off cameras to walk around, take the dog outside, use the bathroom, or get something to drink. Sometimes these breaks could be fun with show and tell breaks for items that students had to run and grab from around the room to share with the group.
I've had people ask me before how you can teach art online and it is taught much like the other subjects are online with a little creativity and flexibility thrown into the mix. Since students had taken home art supply kits, I developed units of study around the tools that they had available to them. Art class online was much like art class in-person with live teacher demonstrations and then independent art studio time with their cameras angled toward their artwork so that I could see what they were doing and speak with them about their progress.
Following live class instruction, students were given the option to use the remaining time of the class period for independent work offline to complete the lesson's take-aways or to remain on the call for one-on-one feedback. This was a useful way for me to really focus in on students needing extra help while also giving the students a personal choice on how to manage their time. Some students would just stay online until the end of class to work alongside others on their projects.
Each week we worked toward the completion of a larger project along with a sketchbook drawing homework assignment as their creative outlet. The high school classes had art projects in drawing, design, and digital photography over the span of our time with e-learning. Since their school-issued laptops included the Adobe Creative Cloud, I was also able to teach photo editing and creative manipulations in Photoshop. Part of the photography unit involved students taking photos based on a Scavenger Hunt shot list using the Elements of Photography as a guide for what inspires them in their day to day lives.
I kept my students' interests in mind with daily check-in's to see how they were doing and what they needed from me so that I could get feedback straight from the students since they are my MVP's (most valuable people). Here's what a few of them had to say...
"So far I have enjoyed this class...instead of the teacher feeding me information, I get to learn and act out what I learned right then and there as well as use my creativity to make new creations and let my imagination run wild on paper."
"While it does feel like a lot, I like having the weekly drawing assignment as well as the project just because it gives me a reason to draw every week. "
"You are doing a very good job on making sure we all understand what is happening and answering questions."
"I like the way class is right now and the photoshop is fun."
"The exit ticket selfies are one of my favorite things."
The honest feedback from my students matters a lot to me because I can get a sense of how they are doing in their own words.
2020 has been a difficult year and the start of 2021 will continue to have its challenges, but I think that just maybe, we are stronger than we think we are. I like to have an optimist's mindset moving forward this year that we will not be living through a pandemic forever and that we can get through it together. I've learned so much during this period of e-learning that I believe that it's important to have gratitude and share how we're feeling by being more of an open book so that there is an opportunity to freely communicate when we are struggling or just want to share the human connection. I also have the good fortune of reuniting with my high school students when they return to in-person instruction this week after the holidays. We have an opportunity to create amazing artwork and grow together with a new energy that ignites from being in the presence of others in our school community.
Stay Healthy, Stay Positive, Stay Bison Strong.
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